featured Slider

So, what IS it like going to school and
studying your subjects in a foreign language? Mariah’s here to tell us all
about the benefits of going to an immersion school and the importance of staying
current in the language you learn.

Meet Shelby Cox, a freelance studio technician for a
major television network, to find out how someone with a passion for languages
finds opportunities to learn languages. Turns out, language learning opportunities
found her.

Hey guys! How have you been? I wanted to share with you the techniques that worked for me when trying to achieve an "accent free" way of speaking my target languages, or at least minimizing my American accent

With all the emphasis on learning languages this year, there's a family of languages that seems to get less spotlight: African languages. In fact, I was reading that there are several languages that are endangered and vulnerable to extinction to varying degrees.

Enter Udochi Okeke, a software developer who works on projects that encourage the use of the Igbo language in industries that traditionally use English for communication such as science, technology and business. Read more to find out how she does her part to encourage Africans to use and do business in their native languages.

I just wanted to update you and let you know that I was invited to speak at the first annual Women In Language conference which is taking place March 8th - 11th. I will not only be speaking on March 9th but I will also be part of a round table taking place on March 10th.

The best part is, you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home! It's an online event and you can take part anywhere you are in the world.

If you'd like to see me speak, please click here to purchase tickets to the 4-day event. I'm in great company, there will be loads of women in languages giving some awesome language learning tips, tricks and resources over the course of those 4 days. For $29, that's an amazing value!

There will also be freebies, raffles, etc. Let me know if you're going to attend. I'd love to connect with you!

We need to break the unrealistic stereotypes. If you look at the media you see more images of black women a la Love and Hip Hop/Real Housewives of Atlanta and less images a la Claire Huxtable (who spoke Spanish fluently by the way), perpetuated by the media regarding black women. By the way, there are less black women that actually behave the way the media portrays.

We are underrepresented in profiles of multilinguals and polyglots. I spend hours performing google searches and refining keywords again and again in pursuit of information on multilingual black celebs and notables. Very few (or even worse no) black notables come up in my initial searches. I see loads of lists such as “21 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Multilingual”. Honestly, I’m lucky if I see a brown face on the list. The sad part is, I keep seeing the same 2 brown faces in different lists. I KNOW that there are more of us than that. Couple this fact with #1 and you’ll understand why I say people act soooooooo shocked, when I start speaking other languages besides English.

We can enrich our lives with different experiences as black women.Multilingualism provides access to additional experiences, career opportunities and multiple avenues to success.

We can ensure our safety. Do you remember that episode of Scandal, where Olivia Pope quickly outwitted her kidnappers and foiled their trafficking attempt by speaking fluent Farsi to the Persian terrorists? While this is a fictional show, the dangers of human trafficking are real. The danger increases when you are not in your home country and it increases even more when you don’t speak any of the language. The more languages you know when traveling abroad, the safer you become when your voice can be heard by any and everyone at any given time.

We stimulate our creativity and intellect.When we speak another language besides our native language, we stimulate activity in less used areas of the brain, thereby increasing brain power and creativity.

We can expand our dating pool (if we so choose).It expands the dating pool, not only beyond race, but you can also date people who don’t even speak your native language.

We can mentor.We can give back to the community by teaching what we’ve learned or we can become a role model and use our story to inspire and encourage others.

What other reasons can you think of for more black women to become multilingual? Share below!

I got some graphic tees made for myself and it seemed like there was a lot of interest in the pictures I posted of them on Instagram. So, I decided to create an online storefront! If you'd like to take a look at all Black Girls Learn Languages branded products, check out my storefront here. New items will be added weekly!

Also, there is currently a promotion going on the Customized Girl website where my storefront is located. If you use code: HOLSAL, you could receive a discount of up to 60% off on selected items. Not sure how long this promotion is for, so see the main site for details.

EDIT: The holiday sale is no longer going on but the site is currently having another up to 30% off sale for a limited time. The site frequently has items on sale so check back often!

You ever meet someone and they just have that “je ne sais quoi”? That’s what I thought about Brenda when we first connected on social media. For some reason, when I looked at her pics, I was mesmerized and found her to be gorgeous! I later found out she lives in Europe (my dream!) AND is multilingual. Seemed like a kindred spirit, so I decided I reach out and express my desire to showcase her on the site.

Need more opportunities to practice your languages, but don't know how to go about it? Don’t wait for them. CREATE THEM! Click here to watch the full video on why it is important to create opportunities to practice and give you some tips on how to create your own opportunities to practice.

About The Creator

I created this space to be THE online resource for multilingual women of the African diaspora. My goal is to inspire language learners and language enthusiasts by celebrating images of us as multilinguals and allowing us to connect with each other.

I aim to provide guidance and support with helpful tips, resources and content to those pursuing multilingualism. Language learning is a journey not a destination. Let's make this journey together.